spinal muscular atrophy
Definition: a heterogeneous group of degenerative diseases of the anterior horn cells in the spinal cord and motor nuclei of the brainstem; all are characterized by weakness. Upper motor neurons remain normal. These diseases include Werdnig-Hoffmann disease, spinal muscular atrophy types I and II (SMA1, SMA2); and Kugelberg-Welander disease, spinal muscular atrophy type III (SMA3).
See Also: Fazio-Londe disease
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